Choices
by SilverLocke980
Summary: One-shot. The Keyblade waits, in the darkness of Between, for Riku to make a choice. And when he chooses Darkness, the Keyblade lets a few tears drop... because it can see the future Riku could have had, if he only had the courage to grasp it.


LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any trademarks thereof.  
  
Note: the [] that brackets the Keyblade's thoughts are what I use in all my stories. Since this entire fanfic is made up of thoughts, I believed it appropriate to use them. Also, the Keyblade isn't exactly human, so it's thoughts are a little different...  
  
Hello, everyone. I've yet to dip my finger in even the smallest amount of the deep waters of Fanfiction.net, but I am slowly spreading out. But, forgive me. Introductions are in order. I am Silverlocke980, writer extraordinaire (or so I hope), and a young Christian male.... who, embarassingly, loves Kingdom Hearts. When I first bought the game, I thought I was insane. But I couldn't help myself; the idea of Final Fantasy and Disney merging was so... intriguing that I couldn't keep myself from buying the game. Thankfully, the game has come out great. It is, oddly, has introspective and deep as anything in Final Fantasy, yet taking that happy little twist Disney always provides. It is a game par excellence.  
  
Oddly, the best part of the game for me is the logbook. Jiminy's notes are a great addition to the game, and actually contain what is, to me, the single most important line in the game within them: " Although Riku was the rightful Keyblade master, when he chose Darkness over Light, the weapon chose Sora instead." That single line got me thinking. What is the Keyblade? Is it alive? How did it know, when Riku took his first fall into darkness, that he would use and abuse it's power, destroying worlds instead of healing them? How?  
  
This is my answer. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you now, the thoughts of the Keyblade. And as they say....  
  
"SHOWTIME!"  
  
Kingdom Hearts  
  
  
  
Choices  
  
[ I watch them now, as they struggle. As one boy opens himself willingly to darkness, as he lets out a clarion call to all the evil in all the worlds, so long as it will let him escape. He says that he isn't afraid of the dark; such a foolish sentiment. It will consume him, and in a part of his heart so deep he barely knows it exists, he realizes that. In a quiet voice, it warns him. But, like all such voices, it is drowned out by the rushing darkness. By the screaming of need.]  
  
[ The other boy struggles now, trying to reach his friend, trying to grab Riku's hand and save him. And this, this alone, is the cardinal difference between the two. Riku plunges into darkness, thinking only of himself, ignoring his friend as they are both consumed by darkness. Yet Sora, even though his body is being racked by pain and pushed and buffeted by the ebony winds that exist Beyond, in the cold dark of the Heartless, he is trying to save his friend. That alone is the difference between them.]  
  
[ I watch now, anxious as I have been few times in my long life. I watch anxiously as Sora stretches for Riku's hand. I have time for a few thoughts, and in the strange darkness where I sleep, I dream.]  
  
[ I am the Keyblade. I am ancient beyond measure, ancient even beyond what I myself recall. I represent the total power of Light. I am a force capable of burning all worlds in a senseless white light, as I almost did once, in the hands of a madman. I am also a force capable of healing all worlds and bridging the barriers between, as I did in the hands of a brave and noble woman who fought a demon in ages past, whose name is lost to history, the dust of dust.]  
  
[ And so, as I watch Sora reach for Riku's hand and fail, as Riku falls to darkness, I wonder why I feel so sad. Why, if I had eyes to cry them, tears would fall from me. I wonder why.]  
  
[ Is it wrong, for me to cry? I, who have seen the deaths of millions, who has been the cause of many of those deaths? Should I care? Is it wrong, that where millions failed to move me, this one boy should so sadden me?]  
  
[ I wonder....]  
  
[ Why do I feel for him so strongly? Is it because I know what his future might have held? Because I know now that that future is lost to him?]  
  
[ For you see, it is given me this- I can see into the future. But, not the future as it will be, but futures that are past. Each moment has, stretching out from it, a million different futures, each telling it's own tale of love and loss, death and war, hope and faith. But when that moment passes, all the futures that could be meet with the one that is and fall to the wayside. I can see, like remnants of titanic ships wrecked on the river of time, these futures. These paths. As Sora is consumed by darkness, I see what Riku's future would be like.]  
  
[ I see Sora grasp Riku's hand. I see Riku look at him, glare at him, at this man who would deny him freedom, and gasp as he realizes for the first time that Sora is being drawn in too. I see him make a choice, decide to fight, to try and save this friend who would so risk their own life for his. I see Riku and Sora struggling, trying to escape the darkness, and finally fall to it. But this darkness doesn't last.]  
  
[ I see Riku standing on the island again, as I appear shining in his hand, as Sora staggers to his feet behind him, dazed and disoriented as he tries to recover from the darkness. I see Heartless sprout out of the ground around them, surrounding them, sharp little talons ready to claw and rend, to tear and rip, to separate the master from his Keyblade. I see them move closer, slowly, as if playing with their prey, forming a circle from which there is no escape. I see Riku look in wonder at me, feeling my weight and my strength. I see Sora stumble backwards into Riku, as the Heartless close in. The two friends stand back to back, ready to die fighting.]  
  
[ Riku charges, swinging my length, scattering the Heartless with each blow. I see him charge again and again, fighting for all he's worth, his swordplay too much for the Heartless to take. They scatter before him like leaves in the wind.]  
  
[ I see Sora, feeble wooden sword in hand, valiantly trying to fight even though his blows have no more effect on the Heartless than a light breeze. I see one Heartless laugh soundlessly, raising its claw to strike. I see Sora deny this, deny what seems to be his destiny. He grabs the Heartless with his free hand, palming the small round head like a basketball. I see him push back, as hard as he can, calling on anything inside him, calling for help. And something answers. Fire blazes from his palm, incinerating the Heartless in his hand, burning a clear path as the magic of Fire is born within him. I see the Heartless step back, amazed that a mage of such power exists in this world. Sora looks at his hand in wonder, then, looking at the Heartless, he thrusts it forth again. Fire flicks out, like a lashing tongue of red flame, burning and consuming as it goes. Heartless fall and dissipate under the onslaught. Sora drops his wooden sword and uses both hands, calling on more and more Fire to combat the darkness.]  
  
[ Riku fights as well as he can, and Sora burns as much as he can, but more are coming. There is never a short supply of hearts close to darkness. As more and more appear here, as more and more are drawn to me and the heart of my wielder, I send a message to Riku. He later thinks it is merely a hunch he had, a feeling, but it is my message. I tell him to head to the small, private place he, Sora, and Kairi were always so fond of. He turns to Sora and yells for him to follow. Sora takes off after him, as the two friends leap off the bridge and splash in the water, swinging and burning as they go, rushing up the beach. Riku clears a path before them, and Sora's flames keep the Heartless at a safe distance behind them. As the two clamber up the beach, they watch in horror as their island begins to be consumed by darkness. More and more of the island turns black, dead, faded. They run faster.]  
  
[ Soon, they enter the special place, the Heart of this world, and see what they think is Kairi. Heartless, having followed them in, charge as Riku and Sora enter the room. Sora turns and strikes at the Heartless, fire streaking from his hands, and so he does not see what happens next. Kairi is not here, just her heart. And this ghost heart flows into Riku. A rush of power blazes past the two friends, and as Sora turns, Kairi disappears into Riku. Riku has no time to explain the strange feeling now in him... he runs forward to help Sora. This is Sora's first successful casting of magic, and he has cast too much, too soon. He pants and shudders, shaking as his life force is drained to cast his magic. Riku slays the Heartless that are left and turns to Sora, and seeing the drained look on his face asks if he is alright. Sora nods, and Riku helps him limp out of the cave. And as they do, their entire world is consumed by darkness. The winds blow, and lands are destroyed, trees uprooted, and as Riku and Sora hang on for dear life, Darkside rises. The epitome of the evil of the human soul. A true Heartless, unlike the experiments Ansem has created and spread throughout the worlds. It rises before them as it did in both their dreams. And it smiles at them.]  
  
[ They fight it, Sora calling on what little magic is left to him, Riku resorting to strength and my edge. Darkside cannot stand against such power as what the two friends display, and he falls soon... but even his defeat is not enough to stop the loss of this world. The two friends fall into darkness, to wake in an alley of Traverse Town later, by the licking tongue of Pluto. The two awake slowly, groggily, as they feel the effects of being dragged through time and space. Both stand shakily, and as they ask each other where they are, they step out of the alley. Their mouths drop and gape in wonder, openly amazed at what they see around them. They walk through the streets unaware of the people gathered about, merely staring at the buildings, the rooftops, the night sky. Staring at this new place. This beautiful, strange, wondrous new place.]  
  
[ Soon they wander through a great wooden door and see a man run by, his face contorted into a look of sheerest agony. He falls, trips, and as he turns around on the ground his whole body freezes, as if locked in time, not breathing, just laying still. His heart appears, and as insane laughter giggles out of the darkness, it is taken away. The man disappears, for a body whose heart is taken by darkness dissipates into nothing. And the Heartless arise, gathering and gibbering about the duo. Refreshed from the nap he took while unconscious, Sora concentrates his power, but his raw magic messes up, and instead of a blast of fire, a wave of ice emits from his hands. The Heartless he strikes freeze solid, shadow bodies frozen and cracking, finally falling apart from the rapid change in temperature. As they shatter, Riku finishes another group, practicing with me, learning my range and strength, my heft and height. My parameters, in other words.]  
  
[ In the future that is now, the future that is and not the one that might have been, Sora has finally been taken by darkness. He floats between worlds, in the cold dark of Between, knowing nothing and feeling less. Soon I must appear to him, to grasp his floating heart and drag him back upwards to light. As I open the gate that will bring him back up, as light pierces the Between and causes the spirits there to recoil in revulsion of that light, I skip ahead in the future that might have been.]  
  
[ I skip ahead a little bit, to the part of the future where Leon appears to the duo. He ignores Sora's questions, focusing on Riku, and that is his mistake. For he must contend with both of them. When Riku refuses to relinquish the Keyblade, Leon raises his own Gunblade and prepares to take it by force. Riku readies himself, entering a fighting stance, but he is soon blown off his feet by the force of Leon's magic. Soon, Sora's magic makes itself known, and a blistering wave of heat fires forth. Leon staggers under the raw force of that magic, but holds his ground. As he prepares to strike with his sword, Riku lunges forth, catching the much heavier Gunblade on my far stronger edge. As Leon pushes down, bringing his greater weight to bear, Sora strikes again, this time summoning the cold. And a strange thing happens, for a magic is called into being, a magic perfected in a faraway land by a knight named Steiner and a mage named Vivi, a magic lost to most worlds. My edge glows blue, blue with the force of cold, and the magic of the blizzard sword makes itself known. Leon is pushed back, defeated by that force, by the strength of two made one. As he slams into a nearby wall, the breath knocked from him, Yuffie strikes from behind the duo, having watched her partner be defeated. She leaps into the air, without preamble or introduction, and throws shuriken after shuriken at them. Riku and Sora roll to the sides, hiding behind crates, as the young ninja flings star after star. Riku raises up to fight back, and one cuts his arm badly, causing his lifeblood to gush out. Riku falls, and Sora responds automatically, calling on magic in him that he didn't even know he had. The power of Cure floats about Riku, and his wound is healed. Riku looks at the newly healed flesh and gazes in wonder at Sora, who merely shrugs embarassedly, not really knowing where it had came from. Yuffie, finally tiring, drops and rushes forward, giant shuriken at the ready, and the two friends call on sword magic again, this time the burning edge of the fire sword, and as Yuffie runs forward Riku does too. Taking my blazing red edge, he swipes as she passes him, ducking under her blow. She catches on short-lived fire, and when it dissipates she falls, badly wounded. The two friends pant tiredly, and Sora suddenly passes out, his magic too drained to do much more. Riku follows soon after, the strain of sword magic taking it's toll on both of them. Leon groans and gets up, wondering how two children could possess such incredible strength, and tiredly heals both himself and Yuffie. The two bested warriors pick up Sora and Riku, removing me from Riku's hand in the process, and trudge back to the hotel.]  
  
[ I fast forward now, seeing futures rush by in a mental shorthand, flashing past me like scenes on a high speed projector. I see Sora and Riku accidently body slammed by Donald and Goofy, almost knocked out by the force of the impact. I see the four dazedly get up, as Heartless soldiers materialize out of nowhere around them. I see them ready for battle, Sora's raw magic changing yet again, this time into the most powerful of elemental magics, that of Thunder. Lightning rains down, blasting Heartless apart, and as the four warriors fight, I see Guard Armor drop from the sky. The four best it easily, possessing a strength far beyond what the pitiful automaton Heartless can match. With it's defeat, the four find room to talk. Though Donald argues against bringing Sora, Riku's complete refusal to leave his friend eventually forces King Mickey's finest to bring Sora along. It is a decision they will be thankful for later, for Sora possesses great raw talent, having always been closer to the magical realm than Riku, and his magics are a great aid to the party.]  
  
[ I flip forward again, speeding through the pages of a history that will never be written, and see bits and pieces of events; the gunshot wound Riku receives from Clayton in the Deep Jungle, a wound that scars his stomach to the end of his days; Sora's first attempt at higher magic, calling on Gravity to crush waves of foes in Monstro's guts as the party tries to find Pinnochio; Riku's chainsaw massacre getup when the party reaches Halloween Town. I see Riku and Sora relearn the ancient art of sword magic, I watch as Donald teaches Sora the finer points of magic, and I watch as the four become friends, as bonds of honor lighter than air and stronger than steel bind them together. I watch as the young soul of a boy named Tidus falls to darkness, a boy who appears to taunt them and drive them on, who unwittingly takes the role of Ansem's puppet. I watch.]  
  
[ The journey ends, soon enough, but only for these worlds. Sora and Riku travel Between, to worlds beyond worlds, as they search for the King. As they search for the Light.]  
  
[ In the future that is now, Sora has been restored, darkness falling off him like droplets of water from a sudden rainstorm. He glances at my silver length, at my blade, and looks in wonder about him at the shadows popping up everywhere. This boy, who should have been a sorceror, is now a warrior, and bravely does he fight. As I cleave opponent after opponent, barely using even the smallest portion of my power, my thoughts wander. I have sent the message to Sora, and he will heed it when he sees fit. I am free to think for a little while, to dream of a different place that now can never be.]  
  
[ I skip forward again, flashing past year after year like so many pages in a book. I watch as the four companions battle through the worlds of Between,as Sora and Riku grow older, as Goofy and Donald age, as the four battle opponent after opponent, as Kairi masters the strange magic inside her and joins them. I watch that meeting, taking place on a dirt road that stretches through an endless plain, with the sun shining down. I see Kairi step almost shyly out of the fields of grass next to the road, as a dumbfounded Riku and an even more confused Sora watch her with the air of one waiting for a dream to end. I watch tears spill in her eyes as she rushes forward and hugs them both, hard fierce hugs which knock the breath out of both participants. I watch as they begin walking again, as they begin talking, telling each other of the events that happend in the two years since they saw each other last. I watch as Riku and Kairi fall in love, in the right and proper way, through hardship and trial. I watch as Sora, one night, lying on the red covers of a cheap bed in a cheaper motel, listens to the sounds of new, eager, fumbling lovers making their first forays into the higher realms of love, in a room directly past his head. I watch him smile as he accepts their love, as he takes the hate trying to be born in his heart and dismisses it, as he becomes happy for both of them. He nods his head and blesses their love, finds happiness in his heart for them, and in doing so becomes a blessed and happy man himself. He does not hate Riku for taking Kairi from him, for she was never his in the first place. He smiles as he lays on his bed in the cheap hotel, and listens to his two greatest friends find something better in themselves. He smiles and turns over, falling asleep, and his dreams are pleasant ones. He will never find a woman to share his bed with, but that is alright. He is happy enough the way he is, alone but not lonely, with the happiness of friends and the privacy of seclusion. Rare are those who can find peace such as this.]  
  
[ I flip forward one last time, as Kairi gives her heart to Sora in the future that is now. I watch what might well be the capstone scene in that great and glorious future that is gone now, the perfect ending to the tale of these brave souls.]  
  
[ I see a great castle, fair beyond measure, white walls standing tall and proud. I see a great throng, millions upon thousands, all milling about as they wait for this great ceremony to start. I see a castle terrace on high, where many great soldiers line up before their aged and strong captain, as Goofy nods to the bride as she walks down the long red aisle. I move forward, seeing the castle mages casting their magics, creating beautiful designs in the air that are as light as breeze and seem to be born of Light itself. I see Riku, the Knight of All Worlds, standing with a look of mixed apprehension and joy, wearing a suit of armor made of purest mythril, while I wait strapped to his back. Behind him, his best man, an ear to ear grin splitting his face, arms folded over the silk tuxedo he wears, Sora stands, the High Mage of All Worlds, waiting to give the simple but ornate ring in his right hand to Riku. He is happy for them, as only a true friend can be happy when they lose something that they wanted to one of their friends, not ignoring their loss but judging it unimportant. He watches as the bride comes forward, resplendent in a beautiful scarlet dress, one that matches her hair and accents the light but strong construction of her face, that lifts up her seemingly frail body and makes it a thing of beauty. Kairi, the Princess of All Hearts, walks forward, to meet her husband. As King Mickey does the honors, Sora hands Riku the ring, and he places it on Kairi's finger. As is the custom of this world, Sora hands a second ring to Kairi, this one of the same make and design of the first. He smiles at her, and nods, and she places her ring on Riku's finger. The three friends stand that way for a while, looking at each other, and they see many things they might not have noticed at any lesser time: the lines on their faces, the hints of pains suffered and wrongs given in their eyes, the great and noble aspect of their faces. They have changed much, for it has been a long time since three friends on a beach of sand and dreamed of a raft. Battles have been fought and won, friends lost and found, lives torn and lives brought together. They have suffered much, but they have also been given much, and for that they can be glad. They look at each other, and see in their older adult faces the young children who they once were, tough children, children who held the potential to give birth to the men and women they had to be. Sora laughs, shaking his head, and Kairi and Riku soon join him. It is bittersweet laughter, but good laughter for all that; change is not always a bad thing. They have changed much, but it is a change for the better, because the value of Light cannot be known, it's very importance never realized, until one has plunged through Darkness. The three friends shake their heads, and Sora stands back, as Riku lifts Kairi's veil and draws her into a kiss. The castle mages, on command from their cranky leader (who even now is wiping tears from his eyes), launch into a spectacle of fireworks as never was seen before in this or any world, and the castle guard, led by a laughing Goofy, clap sword to shield and break into song. And the mighty crowds below break out into laughter and applause and cheering, and all across the worlds, the barriers that were once raped apart by Darkness now gently opened by the power of light, friends see the triumph of Good, and all worlds their applause and happiness. The three friends will die, as all must die and move on to those greater lands that await all who were good and noble in this world despite the cost. Kairi and Riku go at the same time, peacefully and in their sleep as they hold each other one last time. They have lived long lives, Riku being ninety-one and Kairi ninety when they died, and they deserve their rest. They are buried side by side, in a place consecrated as holy, and in recognition of their good, I await there, plunged into the ground like the fabled Excalibur of old, awaiting a new time, awaiting a new darkness to fight. Sora goes in his sleep as well, hundreds of years after their deaths, for as a mage he is granted a life far beyond that of ordinary men. He dies at the ripe old age of nine hundred years, having lived a long and full life. He is buried with his friends, and all the worlds mourn their passing.]  
  
[ I cry a few tears now, as Sora, in the future that is, bests Darkside and begins the long journey Between that will drag him to Traverse Town. As we rush past dream and nightmare to enter the one reality, I cry.]  
  
[ Is it so wrong? That I should cry for the loss of such a bright and promising future, a future that within it upheld all the good in the world and made everything worthwhile? Is it wrong, for me, that I should cry, for the future that is lost, because the future that is now is a far darker one, a future of uncertainty and peril, where the strongest bonds may not be those of honor, but those of pain.]  
  
[ Is it wrong, for me to cry? Or...]  
  
[ Do even heroes have the right to bleed?]  
  
- One note, I have NO idea where this came from. It just popped into my head one day. I wasn't even playing Kingdom Hearts at the time, just thinking about it. And lo and behold, poof. Adds credence to Stephen King's idea that stories are not made things we create, but merely artifacts in our head that we dig up every now and then. Read and review please. I accept constructive criticism; those who flame me get eaten alive. See you all later! 


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